"LINLING! What did I tell you?!"
Mr. Chen's face was red enough to rival a firetruck, his hands waving like he was trying to conduct an exorcism. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO FILE INVENTORY THIS MORNING! MORNING! NOT AFTER LUNCH! NOT LATER! "NOW!"
Lingling looks down to the floor. "I-I'm trying, Mr Chen! I swear I'm trying!"
"Trying? TRYING?!" Mr. Chen stomped toward him, his shoes squeaking against the floor. "Every single day, Lingling! Every day you fail! The boxes aren't going to sort themselves, and the customers aren't going to wait forever!"
Lingling wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I thought… maybe they could wait…"
"WAIT?!" Mr. Chen's hands flailed so wildly he knocked over a stack of folders. They crashed to the floor like a small paper avalanche. "This is why NOTHING gets done! DO YOU HEAR ME! NOTHING!"
Lingling shrank lower, glancing at the doorway. Somewhere above, the giant billboard of Nice, The Perfect Hero glared down at him with that perfect, smug smile. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me how perfect literally everything else is"" He thought.
Mr. Chen's jaw tightened. He folded his arms and leaned in, voice low. "Lingling… I've warned you enough. You are incapable of doing your job properly. I can't run this store with you around."
Lingling's stomach sank. "You're firing me?"
"Fired. Effective immediately." Mr. Chen tossed a crumpled slip of paper onto the counter. "Pack your things and get out. I cannot deal with your incompetence any longer!"
Lingling stared at the paper for a long moment, numb. He slowly picked it up, and clutched it in his hand. Tears pricked at his eyes as he turned toward the door.
He walked out into the rain, each step heavy. The neon glow of Nice's billboard above only made his failure sting more. Lingling's shoulders slumped, his face wet with both rain and tears, and the world felt impossibly big and crushing around him.
He walked out into the rain, each step heavy. The neon glow of Nice's billboard above only made his failure sting more. Lingling's shoulders slumped, his face wet with both rain and tears, and the world felt impossibly big and crushing around him.
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By the time I reached my apartment, a small, shitty box of peeling paint and flickering lights, I was soaked through. I shoved the door open and collapsed onto my dirty couch, letting the rain soak into it.
"Of course… of course it's me" I muttered, voice trembling "it's always me…. Nothing ever goes right."
I stared blankly at the ceiling, then at the glowing billboard outside my window: Nice The Perfect Hero.
I jumped up from the couch, grabbing my jacket and keys. The apartment felt suffocating. I couldn't stay here, couldn't think, couldn't breathe.
I stormed out into the rain again. My steps carried me up the stairwell, out onto the rooftop of a nearby building.
I took a deep breath and looked at the city below. "Yeah… this is pathetic," I muttered to myself. "Shouting at a billboard in the rain like some… fucking loser, I'm a joke."
But the anger still burned in my chest. I raised my voice anyway, screaming toward the glowing billboard above:
"YOU KNOW WHAT, NICE?!"
"NO MATTER HOW PERFECT YOU ARE… THEY'LL FORGET YOU THE SECOND YOU BECOME OLD AND UGLY! YOU'LL JUST BE REPLACED WITH SOMEONE ELSE!"
I pounded the edge of the rooftop with both fists. "YEAH, KEEP FLYING, KEEP SMILING, KEEP BEING PERFECT! BUT ONE DAY… NOBODY'S EVEN GOING TO REMEMBER YOU!"
My chest heaved, fists hurting from pounding the edge.
Then a soft rush of air swept past me.
I spun around.
Nice floated down behind me, white and gold costume shining in the rain. His boots splashed lightly as he landed softly a few feet behind me.
He smiled at me, Perfect, unreadable, untouchable, everything I wasn't.
He pointed finger guns.
Before I could even react, before I could even open my mouth, Nice turned and walked off the edge.
My knees buckled. My mouth opened and closed, words failing me.
Finally, I managed to utter a sentence:
"What the… fuck."
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edited chapter 1 and thank you for reading this.
Honestly i don't what to say in this ngl, im new so like don't be too harsh. but also beat my ass i guess.
Also thanks to my glorious, handsome, marvelous, super cool king Melegant writer of fate/inhuman for beta reading.